From tilman@berlin.snafu.de Mon Feb 5 02:11:50 EST 1996
Article: 151748 of alt.religion.scientology
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From: tilman@berlin.snafu.de (Tilman Hausherr)
Newsgroups: alt.religion.scientology
Subject: Refusal to take scientology course cost jobs
Date: Sun, 04 Feb 1996 16:41:37 GMT
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[Found in AFF's cult observer]
Women Say They Were Fired for Refusing Scientology-based Course
Two women who worked for a veterinarian in the Westchester County [NY]
town of South Salem have complained to the New York State Department of
Human Rights that they were dismissed from their jobs because they
refused to take classes they said promoted the Church of Scientology.
The classes were contracted by veterinarian Martin Goldstein from the
World Institute of Scientology Enterprises, known as WISE, to improve
efficiency and morale
But Susan K. Budleman, 25, and Karen Dvorak, 25, said the first class
they attended had little to do with professional management and more to
do with exercises in mind control. Fearing that the course was a
recruitment program for the Church of Scientology, they said they
refused to continue, their jobs were diminished, they were harassed, and
then finally let go. Dr. Goldstein filed a statement with the
unemployment division of the State Department of Labor maintaining that
the women, a receptionist and a bookkeeper, were dismissed simply for
poor performance and misconduct.
Similar Case
In a similar case in Nassau County, two women who worked in a physical
therapy center in Great Neck said they were discharged from their jobs
because they refused to take Scientlogy-based courses. The New York
State Department of Human Rights found probable cause of religious
discrimination, though it will be several years before a final
determination is made, said Herbert Rosedale, the lawyer who handled
that complaint and who is also representing Ms. Budelman and Ms. Dvorak.
[Rosedale is president of AFF, publisher of The Cult Observer.]
Ms. Budelman said the first class required participants to sit
across from a co-worker with eyes closed while remaining perfectly
still. If the instructor determined that this had been done successfully
long enough, the student went to the next stage, staring at the
co-worker for 15 minutes without breaking eye contact or smiling. In
other exercises, participants recited numbers and were trained to think
optimistically.
Felt Programmed
"I felt like I was being programmed for something, and at that point I
started to get scared," Budleman said. WISE management uses all the same
language of the Church of Scientology, and I didn't want to get involved
in that in any way. It's not my idea of a value system or spiritual
system, and I didn't see how this was supposed to give me management
skills or tell me where I was supposed to put a file when I was done
with it.
(From "Women Say Refusal to Take Course Cost Jobs," New York Times,
7/25/94)
Ms. Dvorak, a Methodist, said "This isn't 'let's slam the
employer' . . . but it's been an education. I am not one to hurt Dr.
Goldstein. My goal is to educate people about Scientology, and how it
can infiltrate a business." "He's just so happy with what Scientology
has done for him that he wants to share it," said Ms. Budleman, who is
Jewish. "I don't think he realized he was overstepping the boundaries of
the Constitution." Rosedale said that programs by Sterling Management,
which is sponsored by WISE, often appear in medical, dental, and
veterinary practices in the area. (From "Women Claim Religious
Discrimination," The Ridgefield [NY] Press, 7/28/94, 7B, 8B)